The Tampa Bay Lightning Buccaneers Ryan Jensen Jersey , with a primary assist from a team that handled them during the regular season, are back in the Eastern Conference final for the third time in four years.

Thank you, Boston Bruins.

”I guess I can say it now. Boston set the bar for us, and we played them three times late in the year,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after his team’s 3-1 victory over the Bruins ended their second-round playoff series in five games.

”The first two times we played them, they literally manhandled us. … and we knew if we were going to go anywhere when we made the playoffs, or if we made the playoffs, that we had to be as good as Boston,” Cooper added.

”We beat them 4-0 (in the last meeting). I think that gave us a little hit of confidence. I guess a lot of confidence. … and, ultimately we carried that through into this playoff round.”

Brayden Point and J.T. Miller scored second-period goals and Anton Stralman added an empty-netter with 1:29 remaining to end any chance for a Boston comeback.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots – 14 in the final period – for the Lightning, who rebounded from losing the series opener at home to eliminate the Bruins in five games.

Boston won three of the four games between the teams during the regular season, finishing one point behind Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division title and the No. 1 seed in the East.

The Bruins outlasted Toronto in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs. They scored six goals to beat the Lightning in Game 1, but had difficulty scoring after that.

Over the last three games Adidas Alex Ovechkin Jersey , Boston failed to score an even-strength goal.

”You’ve got to give them credit. We’re a team that scored all year long with different players in and out of the lineup,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

”We scored against Toronto, so it’s not like after 89 games we forgot how to score or not play the right way,” Cassidy added. ”I think their D corps is big and they move the puck. They did a good job of not allowing us to get inside.”

David Krejci scored on the power play in the final minute of the first period to give Boston a 1-0 lead that Point erased with his unassisted goal at 10:43 of the second.

Miller’s power-play goal broke the tie less than four minutes later, and Stralman added an empty-netter with 1:29 remaining.

”They’re a really good team. They have been all year,” Bruins winger Brad Marchand said. ”They compete extremely hard, they have a lot of speed. They were better than we were in a lot of areas, one of them being puck battles and their pursuit. It showed up in the end.”

One day after being put ”on notice” by the NHL for licking Lightning forward Ryan Callahan during Friday night’s overtime loss in Game 4, there were no more such incidents involving Marchand, who also made headlines after appearing to lick Toronto’s Leo Komarov in the first round.

Marchand was given an edict Saturday to stop licking opponents or subject himself to a possible fine or suspension for future incidents.

Cassidy said before the game that he had spoken with Marchand, delivering a simple, straight-forward message: ”We need you on the ice, we need you playing. If part of his M.O. is to annoy people Cheap Jerome Baker Jersey , find a different way to annoy them. Preferably by scoring some goals, that would be the best way.”

Afterward, Marchand shrugged off a question about his discussion the previous day with NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell.

”It is what it is,” Marchand said. ”I think it’s pretty stupid, the whole situation, but if that’s what they want to do, it’s what they want to do.”

The Lightning once again did a good job of containing Boston’s top line of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Marchand. Although the trio combined for 23 points in the series (seven goals, 16 assists), about half that production (11 points) came in the Bruins’ 6-2 win in Game 1.

Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy assisted on Krejci’s goal, but Vasilevskiy came up big against the high-scoring line with four huge saves – one on Bergeron’s point-blank shot – in the closing minutes while Tampa Bay was killing off Boston’s last power-play opportunity.

The Bruins scored five goals over the final three games of the series, four of them on the power play and one short-handed.

”You can’t rely on special teams every night to win games,” Marchand said. ”They help for sure Bengals Preston Brown Jersey , but you have to be able to produce 5-on-5.”

NOTES: Bruins RW David Backes left the ice after taking a hard hit from Miller with just under eight minutes remaining in the second period. He did not return. … The Lightning improved to 5-1 in Game 5s when holding a 3-1 series lead. … Boston played without D Torey Krug, who injured his left ankle during Game 4. Nick Holden took over Krug’s spot, making his first appearance since Game 3 of Boston’s opening-round series against Toronto.

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A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday:

TEXAS STORY

Colorado shortstop Trevor Story gets to play a big league game near home for the first time when the Rockies open an interleague series Friday night at the Texas Rangers, in a stadium only a few miles from his hometown of Irving, Texas. The Rockies last played at Texas in 2016, which was Story’s standout rookie season. But Story, the 45th overall pick in the 2011 draft out of Irving High, suffered a season-ending left thumb injury about two weeks before that series. Another Texas native starts the opener for the Rockies in right-hander Chad Bettis (4-1), who is from Lubbock and went to Texas Tech. He got a no decision in the Rockies’ 12-9 win during that August 2016 series when he allowed five runs in five innings.

ACES UP

Two of the National League’s top pitchers this season will face off when the Chicago Cubs open a weekend series at the St. Louis Cardinals. Jon Lester (7-2) takes the mound for the Cubs, who are coming off two straight losses at Milwaukee, and the left-hander is fourth in the NL in ERA (2.22). Michael Wacha, meanwhile, is 8-1 and seventh in the league with a 2.47 ERA – providing a much-needed boost for a Cardinals team that’s 4-5 in its last nine games against Miami Authentic Richard Rodgers Jersey , Cincinnati and San Diego.

BACK IN TOWN

Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) takes the ball for the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium, his fourth outing since becoming the 12th pitcher to start a major league game following multiple Tommy John surgeries. Eovaldi pitched for the Yankees from 2015-16, going 14-3 for them in 2015, but has never faced New York. ”I wish I would have been able to finish on a healthy note. Other than that, I really enjoyed my time there,” Eovaldi said.

Jonathan Loaisiga comes up from Double-A Trenton to make his big league debut for the Yankees, starting in place of injured Masahiro Tanaka. The 23-year-old Loaisiga, from Nicaragua, returned to the mound last year from Tommy John surgery. ”Super excited. This is a great opportunity the Yankees are giving me,” Loaisiga said through a translator. ”It’s been a tough road for me to get here and now it’s about enjoying this moment.”

GIO WATCH

Gio Gonzalez (6-2, 2.65 ERA) had his worst start of the season in his last outing, allowing four runs in 3 1/3 innings against the San Francisco Giants last week. The Washington Nationals left-hander will return to the mound when he makes an interleague start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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